Health and Safety bringing a truck-load of benefits to contractor

Mark Pittar Logging's team, along with ACC and Hasmate representatives, gathered for a recent ACC Fleet Saver Accreditation ceremony in Napier.

Log-cartage contractor Mark Pittar says Health and Safety doesn't have to mean higher costs. His fleet of nine logging trucks has recently received ACC Fleet Saver accreditation which entitles the company to lower ACC charges.

"It is a wee bit of a cost saver but that is not really why we do it. It is just good practice to have good systems in place," he said.

Receiving the accreditation meant a fair bit of paperwork first.

"You have to put a fair bit of work into it - paper work such as records of the checks you do for all your gear and your driver checks during he day.

He was registered with ACC's Workplace Safety Management Practices audit standards for about 12 years and this was just an extension from that.

It also afforded peace of mind, should an incident occur, he said.

"Knowing you have all your ducks in a row."

Hasmate managing director Gordon Anderson said the accreditation was a win-win for all.

"These guys are professionals who drive very large trucks valued from $400,000 to $500,000 that we all see on the Taupo and Gisborne roads," he said.

"The accreditation not only allows him to have reduced ACC costs but it is a direct reflection on his affirmative health and safety management practices and the attitude and commitment of his drivers to make the roads safer to use."

Mark Pittar Logging contracts to Pan Pac, which Mr Anderson said had also taken a proactive stance with health safety arena.

He said Pan Pac required data loggers in all log-cartage trucks which gave detailed information on truck movements and truck conditions, down to details such as tyre pressure.

"This provides Pan Pac and the truck operators with a huge amount of gathered-on-board data that is now being used for the safety of the driving, the improvement of the efficiency of the trucks with reduced fuel costs, tyre and road wear and many other benefits to improve the efficiency of the operators' businesses."

Mark Pittar Logging is the second trucking fleet headquartered in Hawke's Bay to win the accreditation. Conroy Removals picked it up two years ago for its national fleet of 75 furniture-removal trucks.

Director David Conroy said the investment in systems by his company's "on-to-it" health and safety team paid off.

"You are all the better for making sure everything is compliant in the difficult world we live in today," he said.